iQIYI Inc, an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, announced recently at its annual iJOY Conference that Lisa, the member of K-pop girl group Blackpink, will join season 2 of iQIYI’s hit variety show Qing Chun You Ni (“Qing Chun You Ni 2” or the “Show”) as the Show’s celebrity mentor. Following the announcement, the news instantly topped multiple social media rankings in China, including Weibo’s trending topics and entertainment topics, as well as TikTok and Zhihu’s trending topics.
At present, Weibo posts related to the news have garnered 300 million views in readership. Furthermore, Chinese hashtags relating to the news also became top trending hashtags on Twitter in Thailand and the Philippines, drawing the attention of overseas audiences.
Qing Chun You Ni 2 is an idol-selection show that brings together dozens of idol trainees for training and competition, of which at the end, only a few are selected through viewers’ votes to debut as an idol group.
Known for setting the record on YouTube for most-viewed girl group music videos (accumulated 6 billion views), Blackpink is also the first K-pop girl group to appear on the cover of Billboard magazine, with their album Kill This Love making 24th and 41st on the Billboard Top 200 Albums ranking and Billboard Top 100 Songs ranking respectively. As a member of Blackpink, Lisa’s debut in a Chinese variety show not only brings high attention, but also inspires the trainees on the Show to strive further for their idol dreams.
Having developed a unique trainee selection and operations system, iQIYI has produced successful boy groups such as NINEPERCENT and UNINE through its original reality shows Idol Producer and Qing Chun You Ni. This represents the company’s effective utilization of self-developed resources through its own platform and the “Apple Orchard” business model.
For example, since NINEPERCENT’s debut, iQIYI has released a wide range of online and offline spin-off content for the group, including TV shows, merchandise, comics, novels and meet-and-greets. NINEPERCENT has since become China’s most commercially-valuable boy group amongst its peers in China. Notably, NINEPERCENT’s group leader Cai Xukun has been appointed as PRADA’s youngest brand ambassador and topped the commercial value ranking for young Chinese idols.
Aside from Lisa, Qing Chun You Ni 2 will also feature other top celebrities as mentors to provide trainees with the ultimate training experience. The Show serves as an important platform for the establishment of youth culture trends, advancement of China’s idol industry and the promotion of cultural exchange between China and the international community. Qing Chun You Ni 2 will be released soon.
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